Palo Alto sees another surge in residential burglaries

For the second time this year, Palo Alto is experiencing a surge in residential burglaries, a police spokesman announced Monday.

At least 20 burglaries have been reported to police since the beginning of June, according to Detective Sgt. Brian Philip. Although they have taken place all over Palo Alto, the majority occurred in the north part of town.

The burglars are continuing to get into homes through unlocked rear doors and windows, Philip said.

Burglary suppression remains a top priority for police and a "number of significant arrests" have been made, including that of three people who were breaking into cars on the 1400 block of Edgewood Drive Monday morning, Philip said.

Police are investigating whether the adult and two youths are responsible for any of the recent residential burglaries.

Michael Holden, 36, was also arrested Monday on suspicion of burglarizing an apartment unit on the 1000 block of Tanland Drive.

Officers initially took Holden into custody for a Santa Barbara County warrant, but then linked him to the Saturday night burglary after finding stolen property at his temporary residence, which was in the same apartment complex, Philip said.

Seventy-one daytime residential burglaries were reported to police during the first three months of the year, or nearly half of the 149 reported in all of 2011. The trend cooled in April after police launched a "Lock It or Lose It" campaign to encourage residents to secure their homes.

Advertisement

Police on Monday reminded residents to call 911 to report suspicious behavior. Anyone with information about the current burglary trend is asked to call the 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or left via text or voice mail at 650-383-8984.